By Tom Davis

The winger returned to training this week and will be available for selection over the weekend, while Jermain Defoe and Aaron Lennon are also hoping to be fit in time for Sunday

Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas is "confident" Gareth Bale will be fit to face Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday.

Bale sustained an ankle injury during the 2-2 draw with FC Basel in the Europa League at the beginning of April and was expected to miss the vital fixture against City.

But the 23-year-old returned to training earlier this week and his manager is confident the Wales international will now be available for selection on the weekend.

“Gareth has been training for the last two days with the team. I am pretty confident [he will be available]," Villas-Boas told reporters.

"Gazza [Bale] has been training also, just the last two days with the team but on his own since the beginning of the week.

“He has made good progress from the start of the week to train with the team and will be up for selection. It is not a gamble [to play him].”

Tottenham are also hopeful of a return to action for England internationals Jermain Defoe and Aaron Lennon, despite the latter yet to return to first-team training since picking up a knee injury in March.

“There has been a good recovery from Defoe. He’s trained with the team all week," continued Villas-Boas.

"Lennon's been recovering progressively, there's still a chance. He hasn't trained with the team yet, there's one more session to go. All of them are in with a chance of making the selection."

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